The Bleeding Hearts Band
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The Bleeding Hearts Band originally consisted of John 'Willie' Wilson, Andy Bown, Snowy White and Peter Wood. Although it has appeared as, and been credited as, a band, it has never been a band in the regular sense, but rather a group of musicians put together for a specific concert or show.
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[edit] The Wall
The Bleeding Hearts Band first appeared mostly as a support for Pink Floyd's The Wall in 1980. The first show opened with Wilson, Bown, White and Wood wearing special rubber life masks designed to look like the faces of the members of Pink Floyd, so that the audience would be surprised when all of a sudden (after In the Flesh? had finished playing), the real Pink Floyd were revealed on the main stage behind them, while the others stopped playing and froze. Then they went on to helping out with additional instruments for the rest of the show with or without the life masks or death masks.
[edit] The Pros and Cons of HitchHiking
When this album was released in 1984, as Roger Waters' first solo album, The Bleeding Hearts Band more or less became 'his' band, although with a completely new lineup, now consisting of:
- Roger Waters - Rhythm and Bass Guitar, Vocals
- Eric Clapton - Lead Guitar
- Michael Kamen - Piano, Orchestra Conductor and Orchestral Arrangements
- Andy Newmark - Drums
- David Sanborn - Saxophones
- Andy Bown - Hammond Organ and Twelve String Guitar
- Ray Cooper - Percussion
- Madeline Bell - Backing Vocals
- Doreen Chanter - Backing Vocals
- Katie Kissoon - Backing Vocals
- Raphael Ravenscroft - Horns
- Kevin Flanigan - Horns
- Vic Sullivan - Horns
as well as The National Philharmonic Orchestra. Waters also went on a tour in 1984 and 1985 with the band, and a natural change of musicians also occurred compared to the studio recording. The Orchestra disappeared, while the brass section and backing vocals were removed and reduced respectively, and the band also shrank between the 1984 and '85 tour.
1984 Tour
- Roger Waters - Rhythm Guitar, Bass Guitar, and Vocals
- Eric Clapton - Lead Guitar
- Michael Kamen - Keyboards
- Andy Newmark - Drums
- Mel Collins - Saxophones
- Chris Stainton - Keyboards and Bass Guitar
- Tim Renwick - Guitar and Bass Guitar
- Doreen Chanter - Backing Vocals
- Katie Kissoon - Backing Vocals
1985 Tour
- Roger Waters - Rhythm Guitar, Bass Guitar, and Vocals
- Jay Stapley - Lead Guitar
- Michael Kamen - Keyboards
- Andy Newmark - Drums
- Mel Collins - Saxophones
- Andy Fairweather Low - Guitars and Bass Guitar
- Doreen Chanter - Backing Vocals
- Katie Kissoon - Backing Vocals
[edit] The Wall, Berlin 1990
When The Wall was set up in Berlin in 1990 to raise money for the charity Memorial Fund for Disaster Relief, the show featured an enormous number of international artists, as well as Roger Waters and The Bleeding Hearts Band, which acted as the house band for the evening, and provided the music for all the extra vocalists.
Although this was a one-off event, the show was broadcast live throughout Europe, and later published both on a CD, as well as DVD/VHS. The concert unfortunately suffered from poor sound quality, mostly due to a power failure during the concert. This forced the crew to re-record Thin Ice, A Brick in the Wall Pt. I (as well as Mother as the performers (The Band) couldn't remember the lines), after the audience had gone home. This is evident in the official published version when compared to the show as broadcast.
The Bleeding Hearts Band also had a few extra members, not normally associated with the band or Roger Waters. The lineup:
- Graham Broad - Drums
- Rick DiFonzo - Guitar
- Snowy White - Guitar
- Andy Fairweather Low - Guitar & Bass
- Nick Glennie-Smith - Keyboards
- Peter Wood - Keyboards
- Joe Chamay - Backing Vocals
- Jim Farber - Backing Vocals
- Jim Haas - Backing Vocals
- John Joyce - Backing Vocals
